The best part of Aunt Gertrude being able to appoint her niece Milly as her attorney in fact (ie, her ‘power of attorney’) is that Milly can handle all of Aunt Gertrude’s money for her.

 

          The worst part of Aunt Gertrude being able to appoint her niece Milly as her attorney in fact (ie, her ‘power of attorney’) is that Milly can handle all of Aunt Gertrude’s money for her.

 

          How can that be? Because Aunt Gertrude is giving control of her life, not only her finances, to Milly. Milly, if she is a saint, can be a blessing to her Aunt and take away much of the stress and strain of everyday life. Milly, if she is more criminally minded, can take advantage of her Aunt, and her Aunt may never even know it.

 

          If Aunt Gertrude is in the hospital and Milly starts spending her Aunt’s money as if it were her own, who would know? Who would be there to stop her? The Power of Attorney is a very powerful document. There are two considerations which you must address before appointing someone as your attorney in fact.

          First, be sure you trust the character of the person you are appointing. You need to know that this is a person of outstanding character and is a trustworthy soul. 

           Second, create an automatic oversight in your power of attorney document. Choose a third party to whom your attorney in fact must report his actions, at least annually. Good fences make good neighbors.

 

         Please contact Mateya Law Firm to help you with your estate planning needs, including the Power of Attorney document.